


Mr. Loverman

by noelleification



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ash Lynx Lives, Ash Lynx Needs A Hug, Ash Lynx and Okumura Eiji Go to Japan, Ash Lynx is in Witness Protection Program, Banana Fish Ending Fix-It, Canon Continuation, Eiji thinks Ash is dead, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Fixing Canon, I need to make everything okay, I'm fine :))))))))))))), I'm writing this instead of going to therapy, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Okumura Eiji Is a Mess, Okumura Eiji Needs a Hug, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, This show BROKE ME, Whump, listen, the Author Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29014422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noelleification/pseuds/noelleification
Summary: On September 3, 2018, Ash Lynx was officially pronounced dead.They said the blade entered through his sixth and seventh ribs. They said he bled out at a table in the library; that they thought he was asleep until they saw the blood pooling underneath him. That he’d died with a letter clutched in his fist. They said the lynx had finally fallen.(It’s best not to believe everything you hear.)Or: After being stabbed by Lao, Ash is placed into Witness Protection Program, and Eiji spends eighteen months in hell.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 14
Kudos: 59





	Mr. Loverman

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, fam, if you follow my tumblr you've seen my turbulent journey as I watch Banana Fish. I finished it, and I am Not Okay :) so I decided to write a fix-it ending because MY HEART HURTS. It won't be too long, only three chapters or so, but it was something I absolutely NEEDED to write. If you're a fan of Young Blood or Blood Moon Rising, don't worry—those fics are my priority, this is just for fun on the side. That being said, I hope you enjoy my interpretation where everything is okay and no one dies. 
> 
> The title of this fic is inspired by Mr. Loverman by Ray Montgomery, AKA the unofficial theme song of the Banana Fish fandom. This chapter title is inspired by Tribulation by Matt Maeson because the lyrics are PERFECT for Ash/Eiji and that song makes me CRY. (If you haven't heard that song go listen to it, the stripped version in particular is BOMB AF). 
> 
> Enjoy! If you like it, let me know in the comments, hearing what you guys have to say makes my day :)

“Darling, can’t you see, I’m a broken man with addictive tendencies // and I think I love you, but I don’t ever think I can // ever learn how to love you right”   
-Matt Maeson

* * *

It was raining when Eiji’s plane landed in Tokyo. He leaned his head against the window and watched the plane pull into the terminal, drumming his fingers anxiously against the rain-streaked glass. 

Being back in Japan was… strange. Familiar, and yet Eiji felt that the person he had become didn’t quite fit right anymore. Everything had changed— _ he  _ had changed, and as much as it was a relief to see his own country and hear his own language, it felt like something was missing. 

He couldn’t help but think of Ash. Had he gotten Eiji’s letter? 

_ You’re way smarter, bigger, and stronger than me. But I always felt like I had to protect you.  _

Ibe-san reached across Eiji’s body to grab his hand, stilling his drumming fingers. Eiji turned his head, looking into his mentor’s kind, worried eyes with a gentle smile. “Sorry, Ibe-san. I guess I was lost in thought.” 

Ibe-san frowned. “It’s over, Ei-chan. Everything is okay now.” 

Okay—yes, it was okay. Ash was alive, Dino was dead, and the catastrophe surrounding Banana Fish had been put to rest. 

But there was still something itching at the back of Eiji’s head, something he couldn’t let go. 

_ I wonder what it is I wanted to protect you from. _

He thought of the man with such light blond hair, with jade eyes and a fox’s smile. He thought of the lover who had protected him from everything—who had kept him safe, even when the world was out to get him. The gangster who killed without hesitation and wept at the blood on his hands. The boy who had to grow up too fast, who had cried himself to sleep in Eiji’s arms. All the disparate threads were tied up into one jaded, fucked-up, beautiful person—a person who Eiji had left behind. 

_ I wanted to protect you from fate. _

“It feels wrong to just… leave,” Eiji whispered. 

“I know.” Ibe-san sighed, leaning back in his seat. “But it’s better this way, Ei-chan. It’s better that he doesn’t have to worry about you.” 

Eiji bit his lip. “He’s all alone again.”

Ibe-san flinched, slight enough that Eiji might not have noticed it if he hadn’t just spent weeks by his mentor’s side, learning everything about Ibe-san that most people missed. Ash was alone, and as much as Ibe-san pretended it was for the best, they both knew it would destroy him. 

_ The fate that tries to carry you away, drifting futher and futher. _

Because as beautiful as Ash was, he was also so, so broken. It had taken Eiji awhile to see the cracks, but once he knew they were there, it was impossible to forget. A child prostitute turned gangster turned killer, someone who had lost everyone he’d ever loved, someone who had watched his family die and put a bullet through the heart of his best friend. Someone who’s body had been used and turned against him time after time until he hated what he saw in the mirror. 

Eiji remembered that day, after they’d rescued Ash from Foxx and Cain had tried to touch him. Ash had flinched, started trembling so hard Eiji could hear his teeth rattle, and he tried to play it off like it was nothing but Eiji  _ knew. _ Eiji knew, and he had held him, and he had soothed him, and all the while his heart broke because he knew he couldn’t make it better. 

Eiji leaned down, reaching into the backpack under the seat in front of him. Would it be wishful thinking to hope that Ash had texted him? He pulled out his phone and switched off airplane mode. 

Immediately, the notifications started flooding in. His phone buzzed incessantly, drawing glares from the passengers, but he didn’t notice. 

_ Six missed calls, twenty-four unread messages.  _

Eiji’s stomach dropped. 

He was calling Max before he knew what he was doing, clutching the phone with trembling fingers. The phone rang once, twice, then clicked, and Max’s voice filtered through. “Eiji?” 

“Max—what’s wrong?” 

Ibe-san glanced over at Eiji with a frown, but Eiji ignored him. 

“Eiji, something happened.” Max’s voice broke; it sounded like he’d been crying. “You need to come back right away.” 

Eiji’s hand tightened around the phone. “Is it Ash?” 

There was a long silence on the other end of the line as Max drew a shaking breath into his lungs. “Eiji, I’m so sorry.” 

“Sorry for what?” Eiji was shaking. Max wouldn’t be acting this way unless… but no, there was no way. Everything was fine, and Eiji would go back to New York, and when he made it Ash would be waiting for him with fondness in his eyes and mischief in his smile. “Max, what’s going on? Put Ash on the phone.”

“Eiji, I’m… I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell you. I’m so, so, sorry…” Max’s voice cut off with a strangled sound. “Eiji, Ash is dead.” 

* * *

Ash remembered bits and pieces. 

He remembered pain; a dagger slid between his ribs; stumbling to the library, a bloody letter clutched in his fist. 

_ You told me once about a leopard you read in a book. How you believed that leopard knew that it couldn’t go back. _

He remembered the tears—was this really it? Was he really going to die as soon as he’d found something worth living for? 

Eiji—he had to live for Eiji. 

_ And I said you weren’t a leopard, that you could change your destiny. _

After that, there was only darkness. 

* * *

_ Dead.  _

_ Ash was dead.  _

“No,” Eiji whispered. “No, no, no, that’s not right. That’s not right—” 

Max’s voice was broken. “I’m so sorry, Eiji.” 

“Stop it,” Eiji demanded, louder this time. “Take it back. That’s a cruel joke, Max, even for you.” 

On the other end of the line, he heard Max’s shattered sob—and it was that sound, more than anything else, that made everything real.

Tears built in Eiji’s eyes and spilled over, streaking down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. 

_ No. _

“Please.” His voice cracked. He didn’t even know what he was begging for—just that he couldn’t live in a world without Ash in it. “Max, please.” 

“Eiji, I… I saw him. The wound…” Max’s breath hitched; his words were thick with tears. “Eiji, he’s gone.” 

_Gone._ _  
_ _He’s gone._

The phone fell from Eiji’s fingers, shattering when it hit the ground. 

Ash. Ash was dead—the boy with the blinding beauty and the cutting smile, whose words were as sharp as blades but whose touch was as soft as down. Ash, who feared pumpkins more than he feared bullets, who was impossible to wake up in the mornings. Ash, who hurt too much and lived too fast and died too young, the boy who had never even had the chance to be happy. Not since somebody had hurt him so badly at eight years old. 

Ash, who had managed to make Eiji feel alive again. 

Dead. Ash was dead. 

Eiji heard someone screaming, but it wasn’t until Ibe-san’s hands landed on his shoulders that he realized it was him. “Ei-chan—Ei-chan, you need to calm down.” 

Calm down? He couldn’t calm down—not when Ash was gone. 

_ Stay with me... I won’t ask "forever." Just for now, Eiji. _

He had promised. He had promised to stay—they were supposed to stay  _ together.  _ But it was  _ Ash _ who had left  _ him. _

He heard the other passengers on the plane murmuring, felt their eyes on his back, but he didn’t care. They could think what they wanted, because Ash was the only person who mattered. Ash, who he loved. Ash, who was dead. 

His throat was raw, his eyes burning, but it couldn’t compare to the pain in his chest. He realized, then, that his screams were forming words. 

Ash’s name. Over and over, he screamed Ash’s name. 

_ If anybody hurts you... It’ll be over my dead body— I don’t care who it is. I am not letting anybody hurt you, Eiji. _

His screams dissolved into heaving, shuddering sobs. His knees gave out; Ibe-san’s arms were the only thing holding him up. 

“Eiji, shhhhh. Shhhh, Eiji, it’s okay.” 

No, it wasn’t—it  _ wasn’t _ okay. How could he say that? Ash was gone, Ash was  _ dead— _ didn’t he realize? 

Eiji’s fingers fisted in Ibe-san’s shirt. He buried his face in Ibe-san’s chest, staining silk with snot and tears. “H-he can’t l-leave me. He can’t  _ leave _ me—”

_ I know there’s at least one person in this world who cares about me. Who doesn’t want anything from me. Do you have any idea what that’s like? I never did... not once in my entire life—until now. And that’s worth more to me than anything else. _

Eiji fell to the ground. 

* * *

Ash came back to the world slowly.  
  
He opened his eyes, squinting as the light dug needles into his skull. Everything ached—his head, his bones, his side—and the ceiling above his head was unfamiliar. 

It took a second for the panic to set in, but once it did, he couldn’t shake it. Where was he? He tried to sit up, but the pain in his side flared, and he fell back with a hiss. 

“Hey, kid, relax.” A hand clutched his shoulder, forcing him back against the bed. 

Ash’s vision went white.  _ Fingers on his skin, pulling at his belt, forcing his legs apart—  _ He bucked, ignoring the sting as his stitches pulled. “Get off of me!” 

“Woah, easy!” The hands retreated. “It’s Dickinson and Jenkins. We’re here to help!” 

Dickinson and Jenkins. The homicide detectives? 

Ash turned his head. Sure enough, the two detectives were seated at his bedside. They both looked exhausted. Dickinson’s curly ginger hair was mused, like he’d been running his hands through it, and his suit was rumpled. Jenkins—the older, paunchier of the two—had dark bags under his eyes; his bald spot was shiny with perspiration. 

He looked around. The grey stone walls were unadorned, unlike any hospital room he’d ever seen—but nevertheless, he was tucked underneath hospital sheets, an IV drip in his arm. 

Ash let out a shaky breath, falling back against his pillows. Safe—he was safe. “Where am I?” he croaked.

“You’re in a secure location,” Jenkins replied, voice gruff and low. 

Ash’s brow furrowed. “What? Why?” 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Dickinson asked gently. 

Ash frowned. He remembered talking to Sing, reading Eiji’s letter, then… 

_ Pain and blood and tears. _ He screwed his eyes shut—that explained the consistent throb in his side. “Lao stabbed me.” 

“That’s right.” Jenkins nodded. “You went to the library—scared the librarian half to death.” He chuckled low under his breath. “She called an ambulance, and when you were checked into the hospital, we came to get you.” 

“Why?” 

The detectives exchanged a glance. Jenkins cleared his throat. “You’ve been a great help to the NYPD—stopping Golzine and learning the details about Banana Fish. Given your service and your… traumatic history…” his ears went pink, “the charges against you have been dropped.” 

Ash stiffened. Dropped? After everything he’d done, all the people he’d killed, they were letting him go, just like that? 

But no, it couldn’t be that easy. Why else would he be here? 

Dickinson smiled. “Congratulations, Mr. Hayes. You’re a free man.” 

Ash grit his teeth, shoulders slumping. Hayes—they had the wrong man. Of course they did. There was no way they’d let the infamous Ash Lynx off free of charge. 

“My name is Ash Lynx,” Ash grit out, hands fisting in his hospital sheets. “You can throw me in prison now.” 

Dickinson leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re not going to prison, Mr. Hayes.” 

Ash’s lips pulled back into a snarl. “I told you, my name is—”

“Not anymore, it’s not. As of today, Ash Lynx is officially dead.” Dickinson set a manila file folder on Ash’s lap, flipping it open to the first page—it was an autopsy report. Ash blinked. It was  _ his _ autopsy report. 

Ash stared down at the paper in front of him.  _ Victim: Ash Lynx, 18 years old. Time of death: 5:28 PM, September 3, 2018.  _

He felt numb. “I don’t understand.” 

“Golzine might be dead, but you still have plenty of enemies, as made obvious by Lao’s attack. Your life is in danger.” The detectives exchanged another glance before Dickinson continued. “You have been placed into the Witness Protection Program under the name Finn Hayes. With our protection, you will be safe.”

Ash couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. 

_ The charges against you have been dropped.  _

_ You’re a free man.  _

_ You have been placed into the Witness Protection Program.  _

His IQ was over 200, but Ash still couldn’t make sense of the words. They tangled in his mind, and as hard as Ash tried, they wouldn’t straighten out. He couldn’t fit this new piece into the puzzle that was his life. 

Ash shook his head. “I don’t…” 

“I understand that this is a lot to take in,” Jenkins said, resting his hand over Ash’s. “We’ll give you some time to think about it.” 

But Ash didn’t want time. He only wanted one thing. Even now, even with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, his mind was in the same place it always was. 

“Eiji.” Ash looked up, finding Jenkins’ eyes. “I want to see Eiji.” 

Jenkins wouldn’t meet Ash’s gaze. “In Witness Protection, it’s typical for a subject to be prohibited from seeing anyone from their past life.”

Ash sat bolt-upright. “I won’t—” 

“Calm down, Mr. Hayes.” Jenkins raised a tired hand. “We’re willing to make an exception in this case.”

Ash felt himself relax, even as his mind reeled. “Why?”

“Frankly?” Jenkins scrubbed a hand over his face. “Because we knew you’d never agree to it if we tried to separate you.”

Ash fisted his hands in his hospital sheets. “When can I see him?” 

Jenkins’ eyes were trained on a spot to the left of Ash’s head. “It’s possible that those close to you are being watched. For the time being, it’s best to keep you apart from your known cohorts—including Max Lobo and Eiji Okumura.” 

Ash’s heart kicked into overdrive. How long were they going to keep them apart?  _ “When can I see him?”  _ Ash demanded, fingers tearing holes in the sheets. 

“Eighteen months,” Dickinson blurted. 

Everything inside Ash went still and cold.  _ “What?”  _

Dickinson let out a long, slow breath. “For your safety and his, Eiji Okumura will have to believe you are dead for eighteen months.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't how Witness Protection Program works, I just don't give a fuck. Also, I know that Ash said that whole quote about having someone who cares about him without expecting anything in return to Blanca, and Eiji never heard it, but I wanted to include it and canon bows to me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed part one of me fixing canon! DON'T WORRY, THERE'S A HAPPY ENDING, I PROMISE. STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!!


End file.
